1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a filling level indicator, comprising a holder, a bracket rotatably mounted thereon and having a lever arm fastened thereto, a float fastened to the lever arm, a filling level sensor arranged in the holder, wherein the filling level sensor has a substrate, a resistor network arranged thereon and a contact spring structure, and also a cover connected to the substrate, which cover covers the resistor network and the contact spring structure, and a magnet arranged in a mount of the bracket and which acts on the contact spring structure such that an electrical signal corresponding to the filling level can be generated according to the pivoting range.
2. Description of Prior Art
Such filling level indicators are known and thus form the prior art (DE 10 2005 047 544 A1). In this respect, the magnet is arranged on the side of the substrate facing away from the thick-film network, wherein the magnet is moved at a small distance over the substrate. The magnet is held on the lever arm or in a bracket connected to the lever arm. If the magnet is arranged in a bracket, the bracket has a mount into which the magnet is inserted. In order to ensure unrestricted pivoting of the bracket parallel to the substrate, the magnet is arranged in the mount on the bracket at a distance from the substrate. It has been shown that, as a result of the movements of the fuel or as a result of movements of the bracket, metal particles in the fuel pass into the region of the magnet, in particular into the gap between the substrate and mount and then, as a result of the magnetic forces, adhere to the magnet or the mount situated in this region. Consequently, as the number of the accumulating metal particles increases, the magnetic forces acting on the contact spring structure decrease. In the worst case, the magnetic forces are no longer sufficient to bring about a deflection of the contact springs for making contact with the resistor network. Consequently, malfunctions of the filling level indicator can occur.